


love was made for you and me

by stellarisms



Series: 2020 Writing Challenge [23]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Elves, First Kiss, Hybrids, Love Letters, Merpeople, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Roommates, Secret Admirer, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:47:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarisms/pseuds/stellarisms
Summary: Hoseok has been getting letters from a mystery someone - gift upon gift along with the letters - and he's started to wonder if he's being led to bark up the wrong tree.(As it turns out, he's wrong about all the right things - and at all the right times.)
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Im Changkyun | I.M/Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk
Series: 2020 Writing Challenge [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588921
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	love was made for you and me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vampirexiumin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirexiumin/gifts).
  * Inspired by [young hearts feel passion strong, fast, and blind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22309231) by [stellarisms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarisms/pseuds/stellarisms). 



> for austin, who i hope has a wonderful day and feels much, much better from the sickness they've been feeling as of late ♥ thank you so SO much for letting me ramble on about "azimuth" to you and being the best possible person to bounce ideas off of (bc. Your Mind) and for being an amazing friend on top of being an amazing writer (Triple Threat!) *^______^* hope you enjoy reading this little hyungwonho get-together thing hehehe!!
> 
> some music for you as you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py4TTTeV7as

The first sign: Hoseok gets handed an envelope halfway into his shift at work.

“A letter? For me?”

“Yep,” the child confirms, busy fixing his water-splashed baseball cap. “Somebody told me to give this to the guy who takes money from people in the shop, so here I am! I did it!”

“Somebody...what did that somebody look like?” Hoseok hopes this kid - whose head barely would barely reach where his elbow hangs - would be easy to get info out of. 

“Not tellin’!” Not a trace of hesitation. Hoseok isn’t sure whether to be concerned or fascinated. “Mister said not to tell, and he seemed like he was a real nice guy, and...yep. Secrets’re secrets, Mister Rabbit!”

The kid dashes out the door - though not without the surf instructor coming out of nowhere and scolding him for running around the lobby with wet feet - and that’s the end of that.

Really, though?

‘Mister’?

‘Mister Rabbit’?

...Okay.

Hoseok is. Puzzled.

The envelope, Hoseok discovers when he goes to lunch break, has close to nothing inside of it.

Nothing but a single sheet of stationary with a piece of strawberry milk candy taped in the middle of it.

* * *

Along with it is a message that settles Hoseok’s nerves  **and** simultaneously sets his sentimental side aflame:

_ Hope today is as sweet to you as you are to me. _

_ ♡  _

_ From  _

_ Your Secret Admirer _

  
  


* * *

“No clue...at all? Not even a little?”

“No, I-I wish I knew. But I have no idea! And, honestly, it makes me feel worse not knowing who it could be.”

“Whoever it is...they must know you pretty well. Incredibly well, if they knew you liked those candies.”

“Right? I mean. I guess it could’ve been a really lucky guess, but-- Kihyun-ah, what do I  _ do _ ? The kid said ‘mister’ so that means it’s a guy, but that’s not enough to go off of! What if he’s out for blood? Or a creepy stalker? What if he’s, I dunno, super  _ old _ and creepy and--!?”

“Hoseokie. For Poseidon’s sake,  **_breathe_ ** . Your priorities are... _ pfft _ ...something else.”

“...Kiiiiiiiiiiiiii, why do you look like you’re about to start laughing?”

“I already am! Because...you’re such a baby, you know? I don’t know whose worse at handling affairs of the heart - you or Hyunwoo-hyung.”

“Am I being compared? To The Biggest Emotional Disaster we know? Oh my god, now I know you-- that’s it, I’m telling Hyunwoo.”

“Telling him what? That you can’t believe someone thinks the world of you? That you can’t fathom the idea that you’re a wonderful, amazing, all-around attractive person? That someone could find you - no romo, I’m your former roommate and now demoted to dormmate-slash-confidant - hotter than hot?”

“...That is. I’m telling Hyunwoo you said that about me.”

“...Y-You. You  _ fucker _ , don’t mess around with-- you  **dare** \--”

“I’m kidding,  _ kidding _ ! C’monnn, Ki! We’re both Undines and we’re both real with each other  **always** ; you’d know me better than that, I’d hope.

“Ugh. And sometimes I wish I didn’t.”

“Love you, too. No romo.”

“...You’re ridiculous. How did we get to be friends so fast, huh? Teeeeeeeeeeell me…!”

* * *

Kihyun and Hoseok bicker and wrestle and play-fight for a good minute or two, before they both give up - and, laughing all the way, they’re off to go fix up dinner for the others with the issue (mostly) forgotten.

Mostly.

Until the next gift arrives.

* * *

The second gift comes several days later, in fact.

It’s... less subtle, but more significant: a bouquet of flowers, delivered by none other than Jooheon.

“For me? From...you?” Hoseok cracks a joke like he does an easy smile. “Aww, hyung, you shouldn’t have.”

“It’s not mine! Dummy, it’s not from  **me** , it’s--” Jooheon slaps a hand to his own mouth. “Mmmfphs.”

“Ummm. C-Come again?” 

“From...Anonymous.” To Hoseok’s ears, his heightened tone sounds unsure. “Anonymous who, you ask? Hell if I know.”

“You didn’t see,” Hoseok wheedles, “who delivered you the flowers?”

Odd, to see someone as carefree as Jooheon look this conflicted.

“Jooheonie,” he tries again. He’s more than a tad concerned now. “If...if this is blackmail or anything remotely close to that, please--”

“No,  **_no_ ** , that’s not-- we’re good, Seokie-hyung! Relax. S’not that serious.” Thank goodness. Not for nothing, but Hoseok can’t feel truly relieved until Jooheon  _ laughs  _ at him. Genuine, loud and braying like usual. “I wouldn’t have been here giving this to you if this were a blackmail scenario. I’d be off wherever the asshole was who tried to ‘gift’ you somethin’, raisin’ hell.”

That’s true.

Jooheon being the type of person he is-- he’d choose to fight for his friends when push came to shove, wouldn’t he?

Hoseok admires that about him.

He wishes he could be that brave. 

Like Jooheon was when it came to pushing Minhyuk to confess his - their - feelings for Changkyun.

“I’m glad,” he sighs. But he has so many lingering doubts, so many unanswered questions. “Then - yes or no questions you can answer, right? Did my Secret Admirer tell you not to tell?”

“Yes,” answers Jooheon immediately. If a little too nervous…

Interesting.

“I believe you.” Hoseok  _ will _ get to the bottom of this mystery, though. “Jooheonie, is it somebody you know?”

“...Yes.”

“Someone  _ I _ know?”

“Y...Yes?” Sounding unsure, but Jooheon looks right in his eyes as he says it. “Yes and, uh, I’m gonna shut up n--”

“Ohhh, no, you don’t. I’m pulling the Hyung Card now.” 

The best part about pure-hearted Jooheon is that he cannot, in any manner of form, deny The Hyung Card. 

“Jooheon-ah,” Hoseok levels his stare and takes the bouquet from him, “tell hyungie the truth. Is my Secret Admirer...someone who would know how much I love white cosmos flowers?”

* * *

Well…

He does get a reply from Jooheon, in the end.

But it comes in the form of him running away in a puff of magical dust, letting out an incomprehensible screech as he flies down the sand towards the ocean.

Hoseok...sighs.

At least he could say he tried.

* * *

Each week to follow, every Sunday for the rest of that month, Hoseok receives more and more little gifts.

A new baseball cap, which Hoseok had been thinking about buying for himself since December.

Bags of chocolate, ice cream parlor coupons, and protein bars.

Bunny-themed knick-knacks.

This person - as suspected - absolutely, positively knew him well.

So it had to be someone close to him, right? Someone who was close enough to know things. Someone who  _ knew  _ him, better than the average admirer would.

Hoseok thinks he might grow to like this mystery person, maybe.

The loyalty and tenacity and care his admirer has when it comes to him...he’s not only flattered, he’s endeared.

The letters, grown longer with each new gift accepted, have extended to two whole pages - of poetry, practically, with how his admirer weaves words together to describe just how beautiful Hoseok is to him.

Him...

“It’s gotta be somebody who knows you like guys, then.” Changkyun mentions it at once when Hoseok starts to review everything he knows with him. Their youngest blinks, catlike stare eternally quizzical. “Who else have you told, other than everyone at home?”

“Just my coworker friend. But she’s...yeah, it’s not her. It can’t be. Why would she when...she’s got a  _ girlfriend _ already, Pup!” Hoseok slumps forward, lying halfway across the coffee table. “I’m so tired. Please put me out of my misery, Kkyungie. Please and thanks.”

“Imagine how tired we are,” counters Changkyun. Smirking, while he does. “Joking. But in all seriousness, hyung: consider the possibility it’s someone closer than you think. Not a coworker friend. Think for a sec, and...consider.”

Hoseok does.

Spends a solid ten, fifteen, seconds contemplating his options.

Not Hyunwoo, who had already confided in him about how he felt (and was, frankly, scared to feel) about Kihyun.

Not Kihyun, who would murder him in his sleep if Hoseok told Hyunwoo about his long-standing crush on him.

Or Jooheon, who was positively smitten with his two boyfriends...yeah...he’s definitely got his hands full with them.

Not Minhyuk, either-- two boyfriends already, both “love-at-first-sight” romance stories in their own right. 

Not to mention how the Phoenix laughed in his  _ face  _ for even suggesting it.

“Is it,” Hoseok picks his head up and straightens up to a sitting position, all to narrow his eyes at the demon-pire next to him, “you, Kkungie?”

Changkyun balks.

“Hell no! No way. I’m more direct than that, c’mon. And don’t get me wrong, hyung - if I didn’t have Min-hyung and Heonie-hyung... _ whew _ . I’d be all over your ass, not gonna lie.” He’s used to Changkyun’s lack of decorum, the rawness that he approaches physicality with. It probably stems from his incubus half, Hoseok realizes, but-- still, his face heats to the tips of his ears when Changkyun hums approvingly, “You’ve got the perfect ass, by the way. Compliments to whoever’s side you got  **that** from.”

“Thanks?” Hoseok wishes his voice didn’t climb two octaves out of embarrassment. “I think I’d, uh, appreciate compliments on everything but my body at the moment, though?”

Changkyun…really is softer than he seems.

Because the number one reason why Hoseok thinks of him like the baby brother he never got to see grow up is because Changkyun always, always knows what he’s thinking without words.

And, unlike Kihyun, he has a knack for timing the things he says.

Saying them exactly when Hoseok needs to hear them the most.

“Here’s a compliment you can carry anywhere, family-friendly settings ’n all: anybody who falls in love with you is the luckiest person alive, because they’re getting the entire package deal wrapped up in a beautiful crystal-clear heart.” Changkyun smiles widely, childlike, arms thrown around Hoseok before he can catch the breath stalled in his too-tight chest. “And you know why? ’Cause you’re a fuckin’ gem, Hoseokie-hyung. Any guy, girl, non-binary -  _ anybody _ ’d be lucky to have you like them back. It’s that simple.”

His eyes start watering.

Goddamn this demon child, the softie he is.

The softie  **he** is, for getting sad over such (however heartfelt) sappiness.

“Thanks, Kyun-Pup. I really do love your way with words.” Hoseok hugs their maknae back in an equally tight embrace. “Even if they’re not always family-friendly.”

Changkyun howls.

“When have you ever known me,” Changkyun chortles, “to be family-friendly?”

He’s right, of course.

About everything.

And Hoseok can’t find any reason at all to argue with  **that** .

* * *

Before long, February is almost through - and, suddenly, the gifts stop coming.

How...weird.

It’s definitely a Sunday.

Apart from the nagging suspicion that Something Is Wrong, Hoseok has a good - if uneventful - day at work.

But no letters, no gifts, and. 

Nothing.

His Secret Admirer - who, in the last letter, added a turtle stamp instead of a heart before his signature - seemingly vanished without a trace.

Maybe he moved away? For reasons having to do with the law, which explains the abrupt ending to this not-love affair? 

Or, perhaps, he got tired of Hoseok, who never once wrote him back?

( _ You idiot, how can you write back to someone if you don’t even know where he lives? _ )

Nevertheless, by the end of his shift, though, Hoseok feels - strangely, inexplicably -  _ betrayed _ .

Like he has any reason to be.

Like he has any  **right** to be.

* * *

Heavy-hearted and melancholy, Hoseok waits on the bench right on the streetside for his ride home to arrive.

Like every other Sunday, he looks forward to having his roommate to talk to on the way home.

His roommate, Hyungwon…

Ah.

He never did tell Hyungwon about his Secret Admirer, not a thing.

Why...he doesn’t know. 

Something about it just...didn’t sit well with Hoseok. 

So whether his other housemates told Hyungwon about what was going on, Hoseok himself avoided mentioning or letting Hyungwon know about him. On purpose.

With purpose.

* * *

(The real reason why is this: telling your roommate, one of your best friends, and someone you’ve been pining after for over six months about a Secret Admirer guy feels like...some kind of moral ‘low.’

He didn’t like to consider the possibility that Hyungwon would think less of him - if he implied he was into girls and guys, too.

If he never told Hyungwon anything about the matter, then…

No harm, no foul, right? 

Right.)

* * *

But the minute Hoseok gets into the car, he takes one look at Hyungwon’s pretty little smile and carefully swept-back hair tucked behind one ear and takes in the finely pressed suit he’s wearing and--

Whoa, hold the phone...

Wait a minute…

Hyungwon with his hair swept back, looking pretty,  _ and _ in a suit? 

“Hi.” Hyungwon greets him like normal as he slides into the passenger seat, like everything about this wasn’t supposed to warrant Hoseok’s mouth hanging open like a fool. “Why do you look surprised to see me?”

He’s not…

Surprised doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Especially when an epiphany comes to him.

“Wonnie.” Hoseok slams his door shut, shifting in his seat. “You...you told me something important that I just remembered. Just now.”

“I did?” Perplexed, Hyungwon’s eyebrows disappear behind his long bangs. “What is it?”

“I remembered just now...the animal you said you’d transform into, if you could pick any animal,” Hoseok stammers. “I-It’s...it’s a turtle, isn’t it?”

The silence that settles between them is  **suffocating** .

Hoseok wants to sink into his seat like quicksand.

Hyungwon--

“Hoseokie-hyung. You...really took this long to figure it out?” He sounds  _ strained _ , like he’s trying not to-- laugh? Cry? Hoseok wants to do the second one, that’s for sure. “Minhyukkie’s right. You really aren’t the brightest bulb in the box.”

“ _ Hey _ _!_ ”

“I’m sorry,” Hyungwon chuckles,  _ beaming _ , and Hoseok…

He’s so terribly weak. 

Because the moment those slender fingers trace over his knuckles, Hoseok imagines he could rocket-propel through the roof of this car with how anxious and excited he is.

Hearing what Hyungwon says next, Hoseok is--

“I’m sorry,” he says again - gentler, leaning in closer, cradling Hoseok’s darkening cheeks in his cool palms. “I made you wait on me for all these months, I really was a stupid turtle. Hiding in his shell, moving slow and steady, pretending nothing about how touchy Minhyukkie and Changkyunnie were around you didn’t bother me.”

“I-- Wonnie, I’m so, so  **sorry** …”

“No,  _ I’m _ the one that should apologize. For not flirting back-- even when you were dared to do it by Minhyukkie-- and I knew, believe me, because you sound fake whenever it’s forced -- and for trying to get your attention the way I did over the last month. I-I wanted to surprise you and tell you today, because--”

“It’s,” Hoseok swallows hard, “my birthday.”

“Yeah. And that’s why I started on that Sunday specifically, because I wanted it to lead up to...today.”

“And d-did you plan on a specific gift to give me today,” Hoseok starts grinning, unable to stop himself, “Mr. Secret Admirer?”

In all the time Hoseok has known him - from the day that he was rescued by Hyungwon and carried back to the apartment to this very day - Hyungwon never, ever smiled like  **_that_ ** around Hoseok before.

Flashing teeth, full lips on the retreat, roguish.

Like he’s about to cause some mischief.

And Hoseok-- he would follow this steadfast, headstrong troublemaker to the ends of the earth and back.

“Three guesses,” Hyungwon tells him. Brushes back the bangs from Hoseok’s forehead, briefly, and his smile tempers. Going back to sweet and shy, pinkies twining before the rest of their fingers entwine and follow suite. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“...A giant teddy bear?” Hoseok figures he might as well guess.

“Nope.” Hyungwon shakes his head. “Try again.”

“Umm, is there...a birthday cake in the backseat?”

“We have to make a stop at the bakery later, but not for that.” Hyungwon’s palms are...sweaty, Hoseok notices. “One more guess. Make it count.”

Hoseok figures it out.

He takes Hyungwon’s other hand in his free one. Massaging it, unsteady gaze floating from it back to Hyungwon’s face. In-hale, ex-hale - twice, once more for good luck, and--

He kisses Hyungwon.

It’s more of a peck, really, but--

“Did I guess right?” 

Hoseok smirks, watching.

It was, apparently, Hyungwon’s turn to blush up to the roots of his hair.

“You,” grits out Hyungwon, like he’s annoyed, but he has yet to let go of the giggling Hoseok’s hand, “are going to be the death of me.”

“I do have siren’s blood in me, so...that’d make sense.” Hoseok’s retort is accompanied by another tiny peck at Hyungwon’s lips. “Am I killing you even now, my Elvhen Prince?”

Hyungwon sighs, yanks him by the scruff of his neck, squeaking, and before long--

\--Hoseok proceeds to get pinned down to the passenger seat and kissed within a centimeter’s breadth of  _ too much _ for the next five minutes, giggling and holding onto Hyungwon’s pretty, pretty hands all the while.

* * *

  
  


But--

If he’s being honest, truly honest...

He is the luckiest person alive, no doubt.

For what it’s worth, he knows - now, more than ever, with no reason or room left to doubt - Hyungwon feels more of the same about him.

It’s no mystery to Hoseok anymore, just how happy he can be.

All because knowing someone loves you is a powerful force, indeed.

  
  



End file.
